


From the Start

by ticklishblaine (lightsandsparks)



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: College AU, First Meetings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-09
Updated: 2015-01-09
Packaged: 2018-03-06 18:43:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3144596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightsandsparks/pseuds/ticklishblaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: First time seeing each other in person/first impressions, after having met online.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From the Start

It had been an act of curiosity, at least that’s what he’d told himself at the beginning. All his friends were talking about it, and mostly he downloaded the app just to laugh at the copious amounts of shirtless pictures with genius captions such as “The best you’ll ever have” or “Don’t knock it till you try it.” Tinder was an endless source of amusement, even if it made him loose just a little bit of faith in humanity every time he used it.

That’s why he was intrigued when he came across Darren’s profile. No shirtless pictures, no creepy attempts at pick-up lines. Just a couple of pictures that looked like they’d been cropped out of group-shots along with a link to a youtube account. Chris would be lying if he said he didn’t watch every video on the channel, and he’d also be lying if he said he wasn’t a little charmed. Darren was pretty cute, and a damn good singer as well. So, for maybe the first (okay, second... maybe third) time, he swiped right, waiting to see what would happen.

He never expected Darren to match with him. Never imagined the other boy would message him first, or that he would actually have some pretty interesting things to say. They had a couple good conversations before Darren asked Chris for his phone number and he couldn’t say no even if he had wanted to.

They’d been talking for almost an entire month before Chris started thinking about meeting Darren in person. They went to the same college, after all, so it’s not like it’d be hard. It was just... awkward, and even thinking about it made him nervous. What if Darren was actually a psychopath? He’d heard enough stories to know it wasn’t an irrational thought. He could end up stuffed into a trunk for the next few weeks if he wasn’t careful.

But... somehow he knew that wouldn’t be the case. Either way, he’d make sure they met in public, preferably during the day just to be safe. Maybe he’d even bring Ashley along to watch his back. He just wanted to meet Darren in person. They had so much in common, and Darren seemed so friendly and fun. Chris liked him, and as dumb as online dating had sounded in the beginning... well, there’s always an exception to the rule, right?

The conversation went over way better than Chris could have hoped. Apparently, Darren had been wanting to meet as well, but didn’t want to bring it up in case Chris wasn’t on the same page. This surprised Chris because Darren exuded confidence, even through text messages. The thought of him hesitating to do anything seemed odd, but it furthered his notion that Darren wasn’t actually crazy, so they agreed to meet next Friday afternoon for lunch at the sandwich shop across campus.

In the days leading up to the meeting, Chris grew more and more anxious. What would they even talk about that they hadn’t already covered through texts? Their conversations were lengthy, encompassing all of their likes, dislikes, plans, goals, and almost everything in between. What if the entire thing was super awkward and they didn’t mesh well at all? How would he escape without being rude? Chris knew he was over-thinking things but it was hard not to. He had never done this, didn’t know what to expect.

Three days of nerves (coupled with some underlying excitement) had him practically shaking as he walked up to the cafe. He was a bit early, but he’d done that on purpose so he wouldn’t be awkwardly looking through the crowd, possibly not recognizing Darren and making things even more uncomfortable than they already were. He got a seat by the window and waited, too nervous to think about getting anything to eat or drink in case he threw it up when Darren finally arrived.

Chris recognized him the minute he walked in. The bouncy curls were unmistakable, as were the eyebrows and bright smile he shot to a few people he must know as he walked by them. He was handsome, gorgeous even. His easy gait and relaxed body language radiated the confidence Chris had suspected. He hoped he’d been right about everything else.

It turned out Darren was everything and more. If a bit loud and over-the-top at times, he made up for it by constantly being friendly, talkative and kind. Even though their initial meeting was slightly ungraceful, they quickly settled into conversation that kept them going for almost three hours, every word flowing so easily that Chris didn’t even have to think about what to say next, which was something he sometimes struggled with. Darren was different; with Darren, things were simple.

It didn’t hurt that he was even prettier up close. His eyes were about four different colors and were surrounded by long, dark lashes. His skin was warm and tanned, and his eyebrows, which should have been ridiculous (and they kind of were, if Chris focused on them for too long), framed his face in just the right way. His lips were bright pink and seemed so soft, and Chris had to physically restrain himself from creepily starring at them when Darren started to ramble on about something.

They had lunch, which Darren had insisted on paying for, the perfect bastard that he was. It was getting late, and they both agreed it was time to get going. Chris wanted desperately to ask Darren to meet again, but he knew that wasn’t how it worked. If Darren didn’t like him he would still feel obligated to agree, leaving the opportunity for Chris to get stood up later on. He’d have to wait. If Darren wanted to meet again, he would text Chris. Or Chris could text Darren and get ignored... but he could also text and get a response. Or they could both wait for the other and wind up never talking again because they were both waiting on the other to fucking text.  


Chris hated dating more than anything ever.  


They said their goodbyes, Darren’s bright eyes looking right into Chris’ when he told him he had an “awesome time.” Chris thanked him again for paying, which Darren shrugged at in his casual, easy way. Leaving the restaurant, Chris felt like he was walking on air. He’d never met anyone like Darren before. Someone who was the complete opposite of him on paper; loud, confident, extremely personable and sociable... but who fit with him so perfectly. Where Chris lacked, Darren filled in and vice versa. They balanced each other out. And even though Chris knew he sounded crazy because they had only just met, he knew there was something special there.  


Chris was so busy thinking about Darren that he didn’t even have time to panic about not hearing from him, which apparently he didn’t need to worry about. Chris was startled out of his thoughts by the ding of his phone; a text from Darren saying he’d had a good time and that he was playing a gig somewhere off-campus tomorrow night, wanting to know if Chris could come.

Chris jumped for joy internally, giddy in a way he hadn’t been since high school. He typed a response, telling Darren he’d be there, and getting a bunch of happy emojis in response just a few minutes later. 

Chris smiled and shook his head fondly. Maybe dating wasn’t so bad after all.


End file.
